Do you think its ok to bring your toddler (like 1-3 year old) to the theater...kid friendly movie of course?

Toby and I took elizabeth once when she was maybe 2 or 3 months and she just slept through the whole thing no problem, but she is 1 now and I really want to take her to see either Enchanted or the Bee movie. And I know that they are kid movies and kids will be all over the theater, but do you think a 1 year old would be ok there? Toby doesnt even want to try it. He just thinks we should go to the drive in, but with out work schdules over the next month, that will never happen! The only time we can really go to a movie would be sunday morning or early afternoon :lol So should we just take her to the regular theater, try and clear a date for the drive in, or just wait for it to come out on video?

I don't do it because I think it's rude to the other people to have a loud toddler in there.

I don't do it because I think it's rude to the other people to have a loud toddler in there.

:agree There is nothing I hate more than taking my 6 and 9 year old to a movie and having to deal with a toddler who won't be quiet. Of course at that age they can't be expected to sit still.

i personally wouldn't bring my dd because she doesn't have the attention span to sit through an entire movie IN A SEAT after the first 5 min she'd be out crawling around...and on that dirty ground i don't think so...then she'd get mad we said no...then we'd have to leave with out seeing the movie and we're out at least $15...so i think it's best for all of our sanity if we just rented the movie when it came out....but that's just my DD

No, no and no. I brought Lydia to see Ice Age 2 (if that tells you how long ago) when she was a couple months old. She slept through the whole thing. But now that she's almost 2? If it doesn't have Elmo in it, she's not interested, so we leave her with the inlaws if we want to go to a movie. And the last movie *I* saw in theatre was "Hot Fuzz" if that tells you anything.

It's not fair to other movie goers to have to put up with a toddler. Kid movies are great, but not for a 2 year old.

Arianna couldnt sit thru a movie until she was about 2 1/2. We tried Madagascar when it came out she had just turned 2 and we ended up having to leave, she was bored and was very clear on voicing her opinion :giggle The first movie she got thru was Curious George which is very toddler friendly (more colors and pictures than talking).

I wouldn't. Oldest dd was 3 when I started taking her to the movies and she did great...but that was also her temperment, she was always a pretty calm and quiet child. Ds I wouldn't even think twice about taking..he was a fit thrower and didn't start going until he was about 5 or 6. Youngest dd has never been yet. She is almost 5 and I still don't know if I would take her yet.

I don't do it because I think it's rude to the other people to have a loud toddler in there.

:yes It irritates me no end to have a child screaming when I'm trying to watch a movie, whether it's a kid movie or not.

Speaking of taking kids to the movies...we went to see "The Mist" on Saturday night and I could not believe this family that brought in what looked like a newborn and a toddler...maybe 2 or 3 years old....that movie was NOT for kids to be watching and it was so loud it couldn't have been good for the babies ears.

Speaking of taking kids to the movies...we went to see "The Mist" on Saturday night and I could not believe this family that brought in what looked like a newborn and a toddler...maybe 2 or 3 years old....that movie was NOT for kids to be watching and it was so loud it couldn't have been good for the babies ears.

Just from the previews, you can tell that movie is not for kids!
I went to see a movie that didn't end until after midnight and parents brought their little kids there. I don't remember what movie it was, but it definitely wasn't a kid movie to be ending after midnight..

My kids were all 'trained' in the base theater. Hey, you only pay a couple of bucks to get in, you can afford to get up and go into the lobby if they are having issues. I swear, it works... or try the $1 theater if you have one near you.

I wouldn't i don't think she would be very interested in either of those movies. I would only take her if it was a kids only showing. some theaters do that. sometimes in summer they have mommy and baby movies where you can bring them and everyone else has a child.

no no no no no. I feel verrry strongly about this, even though I have three of my own. I just can not do it, knowing that other people there probably paid to get a sitter so they could have some quiet time away from kids. I've had more than a few movies ruined b/c toddlers and babies were wiggly and restless and whining and crying and running up and down the isles. I've had more than a few ruined by loud teens and rude adults that wouldn't shut up, and I reported them to the staff :yes

As long as we have young kids, we'll rent at home until they're old enough and mature enough to sit without being disruptive.

IMO a kid movie is a kid movie and it's going to be loud. However if a child is being super disruptive then the parent should leave. I always took my kids at that age. Now an adult movie is a totally different thing.....I really don't think kids or anyone who is disruptive should be there.

Both Enchanted and the Bee movie are playing at the Santee Drive In.
I love it there.
Hubby and I love talking during a movie and I like being able to bring my own snacks. Its only $20 for our family of 5 to go. Last weekend we saw Enchanted, Bee Movie and Fred Claus!
:)

I take them from birth until about 16 months and then from 24 months on. However my kids have ALWAYS been good in the theater. As babies they slept through the whole film and my oldest sat still or stood up and watched the whole movie. I won't take Jacob at this time because he is at that wiggley stage. If they got loud I take them out which has only happened once with Darian & once with Jacob.

My kids are not loud and I have a harder time dealing with loud ass teenagers and adults then I have EVER had dealing with young children. If its a kids movie expect to see kids there of all ages.

I also enjoy the drive in too.

Liam will sit quietly through any movie, so I have never had a problem bringing him(he's two).

The only thing that sucks, is the fact his bladder is TINY. :lol We seriously have to get up at least three times to find a "toilet time". :rofl So we just sit on the end of the row toward the back :yes

Liam will sit quietly through any movie, so I have never had a problem bringing him(he's two).

The only thing that sucks, is the fact his bladder is TINY. :lol We seriously have to get up at least three times to find a "toilet time". :rofl So we just sit on the end of the row toward the back :yes

:D Some kids are just good at the movies. Mine were/are too.

I have not been to see a movie in 4 years I think. Why? Idiots talking through movies. Little kids at least shut up at some point from fear of mom whipping their butt, the clowns who think they need to narrate to their drooling neanderthal companion are the ones that get me.

I think that it's okay to take your kids to the movies, but you need to make sure that you remove them as soon as they start being a disruption. Even if it's a kids' movie, what message are you sending to kids about how to behave when at the movies if you keep your disruptive child in the room? The other kids at the theatre have just as much of a right to watch the movie in peace as adults do. Also, I think it's good for kids to see that when a child is being disruptive, he/she has to leave the theatre - it takes a village to raise a child, you know?

I think if it's a G movie then it's cool. I won't take my DD because she can't watch TV for more than 5 minutes let alone be in a movie theater. When I feel she can sit mostly still for over 40 minutes with distractions around I'll take her to a movie. Until then she will live a theater free life.

no no no no no. I feel verrry strongly about this, even though I have three of my own. I just can not do it, knowing that other people there probably paid to get a sitter so they could have some quiet time away from kids. I've had more than a few movies ruined b/c toddlers and babies were wiggly and restless and whining and crying and running up and down the isles. I've had more than a few ruined by loud teens and rude adults that wouldn't shut up, and I reported them to the staff :yes

As long as we have young kids, we'll rent at home until they're old enough and mature enough to sit without being disruptive.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. The Movies is expensive. It's cheaper to buy the movie and take it home to watch so you are paying for the experience. I'd hate to have mine or anyone else's ruined by children who really aren't ready to be there. If I'm going to a G rated movie well it was designed for children so I have no room to complain.

In San Diego they have mommy movie mornings thru Ultra Star I know on Weds up here u can bring a baby or toddler, watch an adult movie...sometime they are kid ones and they turn it down a little and provide changing tables etc. There are people that go that don't have kids just to get a cheaper movie but they are warned that it is a movie that toddlers are allowed to run around. Other than that I wouldn't want to go to a movie with a toddler I couldnt enjoy it. We mainly go to the base now or wait till its on pay per view or dvd...which honestly the turn around now isn't a lot.

Nope, just because I hate movies theaters (or, more correctly, the people IN them),

my child is 2.5 and i wouldn't take him. he has the patience for Curious George and that is about it. I cringe when I see little kids come into the theater.

If yours can sit still for 1.5 hours, then go for it...if they can't...I wouldn't.

Speaking of taking kids to the movies...we went to see "The Mist" on Saturday night and I could not believe this family that brought in what looked like a newborn and a toddler...maybe 2 or 3 years old....that movie was NOT for kids to be watching and it was so loud it couldn't have been good for the babies ears.

Matt and I went to see the new texas chainsaw massacre a few years back and this guy brought his kids. They were huddling and crying during the whole movie b/c they were so scared. I don't know what the heck is wrong with people.

Oh and no I rent for a reason. I think it's rude to the people who did pay. Not to mention people are just letting their kids do things younger and younger there is no anticipation anymore no earning of special privaleges. My son had to EARN the right to see cars when he was 5 in the theaters. He was SOOO excited to go. He still talks about the first time he went to the theater. It's all about building memories. If you take them from birth what memory are they really going to have. I want a trip to the theater to be a big important special thing for them. Ash has never been.

I dont think small children in a movie is a great idea.
IMO, I would goto the drive in, or wait for the movie to come to DVD.

Ethan is 3 and no way would he sit thru or even be interested in a full length movie. So I have not taken him. I think once he is old enough to sit thru an entire movie I will. But for now I just wait for them to come onto video. The last time I saw a movie in a theater was when I was pregnant with Ethan. It was Van Helsing back in 2004

:yes It irritates me no end to have a child screaming when I'm trying to watch a movie, whether it's a kid movie or not.

no no no no no. I feel verrry strongly about this, even though I have three of my own. I just can not do it, knowing that other people there probably paid to get a sitter so they could have some quiet time away from kids. I've had more than a few movies ruined b/c toddlers and babies were wiggly and restless and whining and crying and running up and down the isles. I've had more than a few ruined by loud teens and rude adults that wouldn't shut up, and I reported them to the staff :yes

As long as we have young kids, we'll rent at home until they're old enough and mature enough to sit without being disruptive.

I agree with both. If we walk into a theater and see a toddler, (I know there are some that are good, but that is NOT the norm :lol) we will walk out and etiher pick a different movie or ask for a refund. I have no patience for disruptive children.

When we go, about once a year, we go in the afternoon. When we saw Shrek 3 we had the whole theater to ourselves. If they got too antsy one of us will take them into the lobby. I firmly believe in exposing kids to situations so they will learn how to act. If theyve never been in a situation they will not know how to act. JMO.

Never to a movie people paid to go see, that's wrong. To the free movies on base, maybe if it's a G-rated cartoon and if my kids made noise I'd take them out right away.

I wouldn't i don't think she would be very interested in either of those movies. I would only take her if it was a kids only showing. some theaters do that. sometimes in summer they have mommy and baby movies where you can bring them and everyone else has a child.
Yeah this is what I was thinking. I think Grossmont Center has mommy and me movies at like 1030 or 11am, and since pretty much mornings are the only time we can go, that was what I wanted to do.

IMO a kid movie is a kid movie and it's going to be loud. However if a child is being super disruptive then the parent should leave. I always took my kids at that age. Now an adult movie is a totally different thing.....I really don't think kids or anyone who is disruptive should be there.

Thats what I thought. I mean they are kid movies (I think enchanted is more so than Bee) but either way, there are gonna be SEVERAL noisy, antsy, whiny, and loud kids there since it is a KID movie, so what is the big deal? I mean if she was being terrible that day, then no I wouldnt go, but most of the time she is pretty mellow. :dunno I doubt we will go to the regular theater anyway, Toby is dead set on the drive in again, but honestly I am starting to hate it!

I don't do it because I think it's rude to the other people to have a loud toddler in there.

:yes

i won't do it unless it is a children's movie. there is a theater in texas that has a children's day in the theater where children are allowed in the theater. what i hate even more than a loud child in a child's movie is a loud child in child's movie (disney movie) late at night.

Both Enchanted and the Bee movie are playing at the Santee Drive In.
I love it there.
Hubby and I love talking during a movie and I like being able to bring my own snacks. Its only $20 for our family of 5 to go. Last weekend we saw Enchanted, Bee Movie and Fred Claus!
:)
Yeah but how late did you stay?? The last time we went to the drive in, we didnt get home until almost one! And we both get up before 5, so the drive in is a little hard to do. Especially with us both working out second jobs at night, its just really hard to go now. And I would really prefer to go to the theater. I miss the theater! lol

I think if you want to take a toddler to the movies you should check and see if your theater has mommy movies. That way they can run around and be loud noone can get mad. I took dd once but it wasnt woth the money to me at the time. I am going to wait till she gets older before trying again.

:yes

i won't do it unless it is a children's movie. there is a theater in texas that has a children's day in the theater where children are allowed in the theater. what i hate even more than a loud child in a child's movie is a loud child in child's movie (disney movie) late at night.

yup agree totally with the bolded part. I feel bad for the older kids who want to see the movie but can't because the little ones are bugging. I have been lucky and my kids will sit through a movie even at 2-3 years of age. for us its the potty breaks that kill me. I miss all the good stuff.

I think it depends on the movie and the child.. When Morissa was 3, I took her to see The Tigger Movie. She sat thru the whole thing totally into it. I had no problem with her being loud or getting out of her seat or being disruptive.

I took DD to see Happy Feet on a matinee. It was great. We went with a couple of other families and sat at the back. The kids danced along in the aisle and there were maybe three other people in the theater besides our group. She was 8 months old then.

She's 18 months now. I would not take her to the movies unless it's a kids movie and a matinee (and it's been out a while). I think if you go to a matinee you expect lots of kids. Evening show, not so much.

I have taken Lance to the movies, but they have been the $1 theater ones and we were the only ones there. He does actually like going to the movies and watches the entire thing.

the girls are 2 and 4 and we've never brought them to the theater. they're haven't been any movies that would hold their attention through the whole thing and i don't think it would be fair to subject everyone else in the theater to 2 little kids. right now, we just wait for dvd's. i haven't been to the movie theater in 4 years :giggle

it would depend on her attention span can she sit through a movie? we didn't bring our youngest to a movie until he was like 4 in the theather . our oldest was 3 when he saw recess schools out and loved it. but they love tv. but my nephew is 3 now and there is no way i would take him to a theather

Nope, I have never taken the kids :no

I have only taken them to the drive in to see kids shows.

I started to take my kids to the theatre(to see kids movies) when they were about 3. I never had a problem with them. I think it all depends on the child.

I liked what a previous poster said about the movies being special and an important memory. I want to wait until Sara is old enough for it to be special and a reward. I want it to be something she will remember for a long time. My first movie in theatres was a Star Wars movie. My brother still talks about how awsome it was.
I also want to add that the theatres usually have the sound up so loud. I really want to protect my childs ears. I don't play the car stereo loud unless she's not with me. I try very hard to make sure she doesn't have hearing damage like many of us. I don't want her going to places like theatres often while her little ears are evolving so much. I know she will damage her ears as a teenager but at least then it will be a somewhat informed decision on her part.

We always have but our kids have always sat through the movies without talking. Granted we get snacks too. But we have always took them and if in that rare chance they act up, one of us will leave and go outside with them until they settle down. That way they won't be bothering anyone else. But that is only on movies that are for kids or something that they would like.

I think it all depends on the child. I've been to kids movies where there is a child screaming the whole time. That is when I don't think it's okay. At a children's movie, you expect to have kids not be completely quiet or sit completely still. You ARE at a kid movie!

I have been taking my daughter to the movies since she was a few months old. She's now 4. There have been times that I walked out of the movie theater and played with her in the hall because she couldn't sit still. My DH would stay in the theater with my DS.

On the flip side, as the parent, I hate when there are single men at a kids movie (and they are late teens, early 20's) and they get pissed because my kid cannot sit completely still. I sit in the back, away from everyone. If you chose to come and sit down two seats away, well, that's your asking for it (sorry, it happened two times on base here).